Have you fallen ill because of tainted meat?
It’s as unpleasant to write about as to think about actually falling prey to one of them.
But even though some are worried about “recall fatigue,” we still have a lot of reporting to do about food-borne illnesses and the government’s response – or lack of it.
We’ve come a long way from the E. coli outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants in 1993, the first time most of us had ever heard of the food-borne illness. Ultimately four died and hundreds were sickened by the undercooked beef.
Food recalls are becoming more commonplace – or even rising, according to new data. The Centers for Disease Control issued a report last week that said the government’s goals for decreasing the problem aren’t being met and that the number of Americans who fall ill to food-borne illnesses remained steady.
The one bright spot, if we can call it that, is that infections of E. coli O157, the strain involved in the Jack in the Box outbreak, fell slightly. Bill Marler, a lawyer who came to specialize in food safety cases after handling the Jack in the Box case, complimented the beef industry for the decline.
The industry did a “remarkable job” in cutting down on the bug, Marler said, thanks to a zero-tolerance policy and screening to keep the bacteria out of the food supply.
Still, that same report showed that there has been an increase in salmonella, listeria and campylobacter outbreaks, making some 48 million people sick last year. Salmonella and campylobacter are most often associated with poultry; listeria with produce.
Just this week, a recall of onions because of listeria was issued, just when you thought it was safe to go into Trader Joes.
We’re researching the meat industry’s response to these problems and we need your help. We would like to know if you’ve ever gotten sick because of bad meat -- or perhaps you’ve lived through this with a family member.
Click here to tell us: have you or a family member ever fallen ill from tainted meat? Have you ever been sick because of a product that’s been recalled? Please share your experience with the Harvest Network.